ONE-SHOTS
Jun 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander
M-AUDIO PROSESSIONS 24: JIMMY CHAMBERLIN SIGNATURE DRUMS
VOL. 1 SAMPLE COLLECTION
Former Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan drummer Jimmy Chamberlin pounds out inventive rock patterns with talent beyond comprehension. On this DVD, the latest in M-Audio's popular ProSessions 24 artist signature series, you get 1.4 GB of invigorating 24-bit loops that showcase the spirit and headspace in which early Pumpkins material was created. More than 90 multitracked groove variations are sorted in three tempo folders: 119 bpm, 123 bpm and 150 bpm. Loops are in 4/4 time, except for the 6/8 time files in the 119 bpm folder. In the lively sounding drum room at Pasadena's Mower Studios, an elaborate microphone setup beautifully captures Chamberlin's Yamaha Birch Custom Absolute Series/Zildjian kit to 15 discrete mono files per groove. That gives you the freedom to mix kit elements independently and arrange them any way you like — keeping in mind that overhead channels will clash if you mix and match from different grooves, of course. A full stereo mix of all channels using the kits' natural pan placement is also provided for each groove in Acidized WAV. Though the rhythmic familiarity to Pumpkins' classics such as “Tonight, Tonight,” “Cherub Rock” and “I Am One” show through, this library is presented in a nuts-and-bolts fashion, offering a good handful of basic grooves and many subtle variations based on them (so don't expect 90 completely different rhythms). The playing is deft by any account with exceedingly high energy and intricate stick work, particularly on fancy hi-hat patterns. This is awesome stuff at a good price, and it lays down a strong foundation for the next three volumes, which Chamberlin promises will be progressively more experimental and polyrhythmic.
M-AUDIO
JIMMY CHAMBERLIN SIGNATURE DRUMS VOL. 1 > $49.95
At a glance: Multitracked drum grooves reminiscent of early Smashing Pumpkins. 1.4 GB of 24-bit Acidized WAV and REX2 files.
Contact: www.m-audio.com
ZERO-G NOSTALGIA
SAMPLE COLLECTION
Emulator soft synths may dominate at the moment, but for many hard-to-emulate classics, good old-fashioned sampling is still the best route. Steve Howell, analog-synth enthusiast and 30-year sample-creation veteran understands that and has gathered together instruments from the past four decades to develop Nostalgia, a 1.3GB Kompakt-hosted sound library containing more than 1,300 patches. Essentially a study in electronic sound, the collection spans 17 folders, including: U.S., Euro and Japanese Classics; Playback Keyboards (Mellotron and Chamberlain); Organs (B3, Farfisa, Vox); Electro-Mechanicals (Clavinet, CP70, Rhodes, Wurlitzer); Vintage Samplers (Emulator II, Fairlight IIx, etc.); String Synths (ARP String Ensemble, Eminent String Synth, etc.); ROMplers; Obscure Synths; generic Sci-Fi, Atmospheric and Bass categories; and Cheap 'n' Cheezy — toys such as the Casio SK-1 and Texas Instruments Speak and Spell.
The drum synths section, though, was by far the most exciting to me. Golden oldies (and some moldies) such as the Pearl Syncussion, Simmons SDSV, Emu Drumulator, Korg DDD1, Linn 9000 and Lindrum, Oberheim OB DX, Sequential Drumtracks, Ace Rhythm Ace and the entire Roland TR series (from the 505 to the 909) and CR-78 are thoroughly captured here. Sampling quality is generally pristine, and the Kompakt patch programming and looping is excellent throughout. The Mellotron patches, however, lacked a bit of the grungy character of, say, GForce's M-Tron. Additionally, I think organs and electric pianos are still best left to physical modeling for the most authentic playability and smooth dynamics. But, for a “best-of” classic-synth preset collection, Nostalgia is the way to go.
ZERO-G (DIST. BY EAST WEST/SOUNDS ONLINE)
NOSTALGIA > $199.95
At a glance: Four decades of electronic instruments. VST 2.0, DXi, Audio Units, RTAS and stand-alone.
Contact: www.soundsonline.com
IK MULTIMEDIA CSR — CLASSIK STUDIO REVERB
REVERB PLUG-INS
IK's long-awaited Classik Studio Reverb (CSR) suite of four reverb plug-ins — Plate, Room, Hall and Inverse — models on the sounds of popular high-end outboard reverb units. Although no specific hardware gets credit, it's safe to assume that the Lexicons, TCs and Eventides of the world were subjects for CSR's sounds. Sharing similar interface designs, each plug-in features an Easy mode for quick access to upwards of six most-used functions, an Advanced mode with more than 100 parameters and a highly flexible 8 × 8 modulation matrix with dual LFO and attack-release envelopes. A very cool Macro control lets you assign upwards of eight parameters across four sliders (or you can stack all eight onto one slider), allowing for some wild morphing between vastly different reverb settings in real time or automated in a DAW. Plate delivers an authentic, warm wave of reverb that is slightly metallic in character — like the original EMT-140 — and is exceptional on vocals and drums. Room and Hall are thick and full, with reverb tails that can last for minutes — perfect for creating epic pads. The Inverse reverb has some very nice, however typical, reverse tape-breathing drum presets. The numerous parameters and macros allow you to spin and turn beats, guitars, synth lines or vocals inside out in really cool ways. Impulse response reverbs are hot, but algorithm-based processors like CSR use only a fraction of the CPU power, comparatively. CSR easily stands up to the sound quality of high-end plug-ins costing twice as much and delivers a distinctive vintage sound true to the very best digital reverbs of the '80s and '90s.
IK MULTIMEDIA
CSR > $399
At a glance: Four high-quality reverb units based on classic hardware. VST, Audio Units, RTAS.
Contact: www.ikmultimedia.com
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